1. A Historical Perspective on Children's Drawings 2. Children's Drawings in Context 3. Working with Children and Their Drawings 4. Developmental Aspects of Children's Drawings 5. Emotional Content of Children's Drawings 6. Interpersonal Aspects of Children's Drawings 7. Somatic and Spiritual Aspects of Children's Drawings 8. Ethical Considerations and Children's Drawings Appendix: Materials and Resources.

Understanding Children's Drawings

The draw and write technique is increasingly popular in health education research with children. It is generally employed in the setting of the school classroom and is promoted as a ‘bottom-up’ approach which enhances participation by children. In this paper we critically appraise the use of this method. Against the background of a consideration of carrying out qualitative health promotion research with children we examine the origins and use of children’s drawings in a number of disciplines and practice environments. We argue that, although the draw and write technique has made an important contribution to health education research, it fails to reflect the processes involved in the construction and collection of such data. A range of methodological, analytical and ethical issues are raised. We conclude that health education research with children must involve taking children seriously as social actors and query the assumption that drawing enables children to communicate their thought any more than does conversational language. We suggest that the development of research should be premised upon an appreciation of the social context and the world of the child.

A critical appraisal of the draw and write technique

can be adapted for use in different cultural contexts. Two case studies are included which provide an empirical demonstration of the high quality and sophisticated nature of data which can be collected from young children using an innovative method called the ’draw-and-write’ technique. This technique inverts the more traditional ’top-down’ methodology to a ’bottom-up’ approach and has the potential to enable all children to participate and to improve the quality and relevance of the curriculum. However, the technique needs to be used carefully and sensitively if it is truly aiming to treat children

Images of health: exploring beliefs of children using the 'draw-and-write' technique

Development of social categories and stereotypes in early childhood: The case of “The Arab” concept formation, stereotype and attitudes by Jewish children in Israel

Children’s drawings are thought to be a mirror of a child’s representational development. Research suggests that with age children develop more complex and symbolic representational strategies and reference points become more differentiated by gender. We collected two drawings from 109 5–13‐year‐old children (three age groups). Each child drew their family and their school and participated in an independent recall task. The results indicated significant gender and age differences in the number of details depicted in the family drawings. There were also significant differences between boys’ and girls’ stereotyped drawings, usage of proportionality, and clothing. With age, children tended to draw more aerial views of their school. The results are discussed in terms of the contribution children’s drawings can make to the study of cognitive development and vice versa, as well as their importance for education.

Emery I. Gondor

Papers

Group Values Through Children’s Drawings

Actions, Styles and Symbols in Kinetic Family Drawings (K-F-D)

Children Tell Stories. An Analysis of Fantasy

Art Therapy: In Theory and Practice

Psychological Evaluation of Children’s Human Drawings